


Ghosting

by koyikki



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Assassination, Attempted Murder, BadBoyHalo - Freeform, Blood and Injury, Child Neglect, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Family Loss, LOL orphan killer, Memory Loss, Near Death, Orphans, Past Character Death, References to Depression, References to Drugs, ngl this makes me sad to write, philza has favorite children.jpg, sally the salmon - Freeform, sapnap might be in this i have no idea, traitors, wilbur is a farmer librarian, wilbur tries to be a good dad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:09:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27663844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koyikki/pseuds/koyikki
Summary: "I don't remember anything. I only remember the good things, like the van and winning the election. Did I do this, Tubbo?""Yeah...yeah, you did. It's okay though, we're rebuilding. You shouldn't blame yourself now."What else did he do? What if he had hurt his friends?---AKA, adventures of ghost wilbur, painful familial memories, and begging for forgiveness
Comments: 9
Kudos: 217





	1. Remembering The Past

**Author's Note:**

> hi :] this is mainly about ghostbur and his experiences of being a ghost and shit, this is my first fic so its probably going to take me Forever :']. :']]] apologies for any writing errors!!

"Was I a bad person, Tubbo?" 

"Well...you did more good than you did bad!" Tubbo tilts his head as he sits on the cliff of what remained of L'manberg, a small field above the button room where a few people were building their new houses. 

"Oh…I don't remember anything I did." 

"I know."

Wilbur sits with the president, floating rather in his corporeal form. He couldn't remember anything, only certain things that had made him happy in his past life. His friends were all telling him that the crater he was looking at was caused by him, but he certainly didn't remember blowing it all up. 

"Do you like what I've done to New L'manberg so far?" He asks Tubbo, waiting patiently for an answer as the new president fiddles with his new compass which was a gift from the ghost, he figured that the president would need it more than him. He couldn't leave L'manberg anyways.

"Yeah! You've made some great progress, New L'manberg is starting to look really nice thanks to you." Tubbo meant that, he really liked the new decorations! It was starting to look better than it did when it was Manberg! 

"Oh, Wilbur, I need to get going. I want to rebuild the van and I need to go steal some materials from Eret."

"Who?" Wilbur notices Tubbo's shocked expression. He truly didn't know who that was, maybe they just hadn't met yet? He feels a little guilty.

"Oh...I'll tell you later, I guess. Thanks for the compass, Wilbur!" Tubbo stands up and heads down the hill, jumping down on the platforms in L'manberg and making his way towards wherever "Eret" is. Wilbur, meanwhile, makes his way to his house under his crane. He could float through the ground, but he likes to think that it's more classy to walk. He walks through the doorway into his little library, and picks up a book and quill.

"Things I remember…" He can hear Quackity and Karl above ground talking to his son, Fundy. He tunes them out and starts to write.

"The smell of bread…L'manberg...the revolution…bullying tommy, parentheses...sparring with Techno as a kid," Wilbur stops writing. His brother, Techno. He remembers that vividly.

* * *

"Surrender now, Will! Or else I'll pierce you right in the lung!" A young Techno stands above a young Wilbur who is laying on his back in the dirt, a weight against his lung. Techno holds a wooden shield and sword, while Wilbur's sword and shield are knocked to the ground a few feet away. His brother had always been better at sparring than him.

"Nooooo!! I'll never surrender, you can pry this diamond from my cold, dead hands!" Wilbur laughs as he fishes a diamond from his pocket. Their dad, Philza, sits a couple of feet away with their younger brother Tommy. Philza gave him the diamond with the prompt of protection. Remembering what Philza said, Wilbur grabs the sword and forces it back on Techno and scurries back to pick up his sword and shield.

"You thief! I know you work for the king, you dirty traitor!" In seconds, they go back to battle, hitting their swords against shields and blocking eachother's attacks. In just a few minutes, they were both out of breath and on the floor. 

"Alright boys, you both can be done now. Our dinner is probably ready by now. Remember that we'll be doing training with bows tomorrow, and I want you both to teach Tommy how to properly use a bow and arrow." Philza spoke up, standing from where he was sitting watching them spar. Tommy looked up at his dad, making a shocked face.

"I can shoot a bow and arrow, dad! It's not impossible…"

"Last time you tried, you missed the target so much that you ended up hitting the target that was much farther away on accident."

"That was on purpose! I'm just really, really smart."

Techno and Wilbur laugh at their younger brother's antics, although their laughs are pained with the sound of exhaustion. Techno stands up first, making his way over to Wilbur to help him up. He takes his hand and is pulled up, steadying himself before nodding to his brother as a thanks. They walk together to their father, congratulating each other on working hard that day. However Wilbur smirks, lifting his foot out in front of Techno's and trips him with a laugh.

"WHAT THE HE-"

* * *

Wilbur snaps back into reality. He hasn't seen Techno in a while. He misses his brother, he misses his family. He looks at what he's written, smiling at the sudden memory, and continues.

"The wind...being president...people cheering for me...Fundy growing up," he stops for a small second. His son! He loved his son a lot. He hears Quackity call Fundy an orphan over the sound of construction, and giggles. Everybody could see Wilbur, but they considered him to just be simply dead. 

"Niki...the van...Tubbo building everything...Phil protecting me…Sally the Salmon," he smiles while writing her name. She wasn't really a salmon, he had told everybody that to make a joke and everybody believed it. He liked to say she was a salmon because she always went with the flow like one, but was also really strong and resilient. She also kind of looked like one, with her orange-ish hair and green dress. Sally was a wonderful woman. 

"Philza stabbing me to death with a sword," he wasn't sure why he remembered that one. It wasn't a good memory. He couldn't remember why he was stabbed. He just knew that he was.

"A large explosion...the taste of salt...air in my lungs...the election...winning the election...a ravine...Techno's armoury...books...tunnels..," he trails off. He doesn't remember anything else. After writing down that he doesn't have anything else, he puts the book down to let the ink dry. He floats up out of his small house and to where Quackity and Karl are harrassing his son for being an Orphan. 

"Hello!"

"OH FUCK- Holy shit Wilbur, where'd you come from?" Quackity screams when Wilbur speaks, maybe he was scared by the sudden appearance.

"I came from my home! Hello Karl, hello Fundy!" They both wave at him, Fundy seeming a little more hesitant. Wilbur smiles at him as a sign of trust. He doesn't smile back. 

"Hey! Maybe he came from hell again," Karl suggests. Immediately, the three of them burst into laughter and giggles. Wilbur doesn't laugh, he just smiles. He mentioned before that he didn't see god or go to hell when he died, but they interpreted his description of what he saw as hell and that has been their joke with him ever since. From a distance, he sees Tubbo rebuilding the van and gives him a thumbs up. It looks good, looks like the original. 

"What are you three doing right now? Can I help?" Wilbur looks a little expentantly at the three men in front of him. Quackity speaks up first,

"We need help with the new L'manberg theme! Will you help us? We don't know the chords for it, and you were really the only one who actually knew the song."

Wilbur immediately perks up. A new L'manberg theme! That would be fun, a good bonding session with his friends and his son! 

"Sure! The chords are easy though, here." Wilbur floats over to Quackity and picks up a guitar out of nowhere, just the perks of being a ghost. He floats up on the top of the crane and gestures for the others to climb up and sit on the frame with him. They do so, making comments about how easy it must be to be a ghost. 

"So, you know the first lines," Wilbur starts to sing, strumming to the tune of the L'manberg anthem, " _ I heard...there was...a special place..."  _

He goes slow paced so Quackity can strum along. It sounds choppy, but practice makes perfect. 

" _ Where men...can go...and emancipate,"  _ Wilbur's voice still sounds a little raspy, maybe it's the perk of being a ghost. 

" _ The brutality...and the tyranny...of their rulers…well, this place is real, you needn't fret, with Wilbur, Tommy, Tubbo, fuck Er-" _

"Maybe we should change the lyrics now that Eret is on our side now," Quackity and Fundy both chime in on that one. Ah, now Wilbur remembered. Eret was in Techno's armoury, he believed. The one with the glasses. Maybe that's when they met. Regardless, he nodded.

"Maybe it could be  _ with Wilbur, Tommy, Tubbo...and Eret _ ?" Tubbo spoke. The four jumped a bit, when had Tubbo gotten up here with them? He had a small ukulele as well, ready to sing. They all mutually agreed, and Wilbur kept strumming along.

" _...with Wilbur, Tommy, Tubbo, and Eret...it's a very big and not blown up L'manberg…" _

"What should we add next?"

"I have a verse." Fundy snaps his fingers, they all motion him to go on. "How about,  _ for freedom and for liberty, our nation sought to build on these, a victory for all under democracy _ ?" 

"Ooh that sounds good!! I'll write it down." Karl had been writing all of this down, Wilbur had asked him to write it down. He liked collecting books. 

"Then we can do,  _ Well then darkness came and then it went, we built a home and watched it sink, and from the rubble there emerged L'manberg _ ! And then the repeated chorus!" Fundy was good at this. His voice was a little scratchy, but his dad hadn't given him singing lessons since he was 10. 

"Alright, verse two done. Verse three?"

"Hm," Quackity tapped his guitar with his nails, "maybe... _ with bloodied hands… and weakened knees… our people rose like… _ ?" They all stopped for a moment. This was harder than it looked, apparently.

"Our people rose like the pheonix? Is that good? It could go like…  _ Our people rose, like the pheonix, our empty fields and canals 'round… _ "

"L'mantree!" Tubbo interrupts Quackity, making the others laugh. "It's the one thing that hasn't been destroyed! It's barrier is looking pretty gross though."

"Very true! Alright,  _ our empty fields and canals 'round L'mantree… with sweat and tears we armed our ranks, we laid foundations in our land, And from every lip from up here on up to infinity. _ " Quackity knows all of the chords at this point, he's a fast learner.

"Why don't we change  _ my L'manberg _ to  _ We sing L'manberg _ four times, then  _ To our L'manberg _ as the finishing line?" Karl suggested. It was a great idea, the others thought so too! Wilbur took the book from Karl, titling it the New L'manberg Anthem and adding his own notes and sections to it. 

"All done! Here you go, guys!" 

"Thanks for the help, Wilbur!

"Ha, yeah thanks Ghostbur!"

"Ghostbur?" Wilbur's interest is piqued. Were they calling him Ghostbur? An interesting title. He turns and floats down the crane, the others following suit slowly as to not hurt themselves. It was strange to see his non-corporeal friends struggle to do things that he could do with ease. It was like watching a cat with no claws try to kill a fish. Simply put, it was a little embarrassing. 

"Have any of you seen Phil recently? I would like to speak with him, but I don't think I can go too far from L'manberg." Wilbur wouldn't usually bother his friends to ask such a simple question, but ever since Phil had stabbed him, they hadn't talked. That was when Techno disappeared as well. 

"Oh yeah, I have. He came to build a house with Tommy, right over there." Fundy points to the small hut by Karl's house, the one that doesn't go with the palette of New L'manberg. That's how anyone could tell it was Tommy's in the first place, honestly. 

"Oh. Okay! Well, if any of you happen to talk to him later, please send him to my crane! I want to talk to him, we haven't talked since..." Everyone went silent. They all knew, but didn't bother to say anything. They didn't want him to remember anything that would hurt him, and they didn't want to have to remind Phil that he killed his own son. They didn't want to tell him the truth, that Phil built a memorial in the button room and would go there and talk to himself every night. It was best that he didn't know.

"Yeah. We'll tell you, alright dad?"

"Okay! Thank you!" Wilbur smiled uncomfortably in the newly broken silence, and dissipated into thin air and sunk into his house. He heard them talking above, slightly muffled. 

"Would Philza even want to see him? It might be too soon."

"I don't think he remembers why Philza st-..." 

They walked away, he guessed. It was silent now. Silent and cold. When Wilbur first died, it was so cold. Everything was so cold, he had to stay near lanterns and torches so he didn't wisp away. When he met up with his friends again, everything had suddenly become warm. It was so, so nice. He loved his friends. A loud pattern of knocks at his door spooked him out of overthinking too much. He opened the door and smiled.

"Hey Tommy! Do you need something? Come on in!

"'Sup Wilbur. Got some books for you." 

"Oh, okay! Here, we can put them in my chest."

Wilbur leads Tommy to his small library and opens the chest that contains his books. There were so many titles in there, his own little library.

"Here you go. I found some documents in my house, thought you would like reading them."

"Oh! Thank you, Tommy!" Wilbur opens his arms, smiling when Tommy dumps a handful of documents into them. They all said various things, titles like ' _ The Best Day Of My Life  _ ' by Blev, ' _ How To Se-' _

"OH SHIT-!" Tommy snatches the title he was currently reading out of his hands.

"Haha...not important. It was a personal novel."

"Are you a novelist, Tommy?" 

"What's it to you, Big G?"

"Big G? Does that stand for Ghostbur? You're such a child." Wilbur giggles a bit, stacking the documents in the chest, taking a mental note that he'll have to read them all later. He floats up, doing loops around his younger brother.

"I am not a child, dickhead. I am such a big man. A huge man, actually. The hugest."

"Tommy, do you remember when you and Phil used to watch Technoblade and I spar together? I'd like to do that again sometime."

Tommy shrugs off the comment about wanting to spar again, but he nods. "Yeah, I remember. He always won, but you would threaten to clip his two fang things when he slept and Dad had to stop you two from fighting all of the time."

"I remember actually doing that once."

"Yeah, you did it and Techno woke up while Dad was cooking food and Techno got so mad," Tommy starts to laugh, "you ran away so quickly because he took one of Dad's actual swords! Then you ended up lost and we were all trying to find you, and then I got lost."

Wilbur was so worried that night. They weren't much older, only sixteen years old at that time while Tommy was only twelve. 

* * *

"I swear, you two are grounded when you get home! Not only did you steal my sword, Techno, and almost break it in the process, but you both LOST Tommy? How the hell do you lose the loudest sibling?" Philza was quite angry with the two older brothers. Techno tried to stifle a laugh, his fangs were only half of the length they used to be, but still enough to be sticking out of his mouth. Wilbur, on the other hand, was cackling. Not only had he been the one to clip his brother's fangs, but Wilbur had also lost Tommy, which he found hilarious.

"We're sorry Dad, we didn't mean to lose him! I guess we were walking too fast when me and Tommy found Wilbur, and Tommy got left behind."

Phil looked tired at this point. "Not an excuse, Techno. You two better hope he's alive or you won't see the light of day ever again."

"WILBUR!! DADZA!! WHERE ARE YOU??" The two teens and their dad snapped their necks in the direction of the yelling. That was definitely Tommy, and Tommy never sounded too stressed unless it was something serious. Techno was the first to start running towards the sound of the yell, and the others followed suit.

"TECHNO?? IS THAT YOU?"

"I FOUND TOMMY, NO WORRIES DAD!! OH GOD, THERE'S ANOTHER TOMMY??"

"WHAT??"

Wilbur and Philza finally caught up to Techno, who had a shield out facing two young kids. One of them was Tommy, one of them...well, the other one was Tommy-esque. Brown hair, a dark green dress shirt that had been ripped up and dirtied, and shorts. They were both standing, although Tommy was helping the mystery child stand.

Philza spoke and broke the silence. "Who are you?" The brown haired kid stuttered, voice a little quiet.

"I'm...Tubbo. Who are you?"

* * *

Wilbur smiled when he remembered the incident. Yes, that was when they'd met Tubbo. Incidentally, they had met him on the side of the road. Tommy said he was inside of a box a couple feet away, and the family brought him in and claimed him as their own. Tommy and Tubbo immediately became best friends which lifted a heavy weight off of Philza's shoulders. Tubbo was a semi-good influence on Tommy, and Tommy would teach Tubbo about things he needed to know.

"That was such a fun night. You and Tubbo brought out the best in each other." 

"Aw, thank you Wilbur!" Wilbur and Tommy both flinched, looking into the doorway and seeing Tubbo in his presidential outfit, blazer tucked over his arms. 

"Tubbo! Tubbo, I have a question for you."

"Ask away?"

Tommy looks hesitant to ask, but he does. "Before I found you in that box...who was your family?" Tubbo looks confused for a moment, and then starts to think. Come to think of it, Wilbur had never considered the fact that Tubbo might've had family before Philza basically adopted him.

"I did! I had a family, surely I did. I don't remember them anymore, though. I don't even remember how I ended up in that box. All I really care about is you guys, though! You're my friends, I would almost consider you family! It'd suck if we ever fell apart."

Wilbur pauses, thinking for a few seconds. 

"I need to go talk to Phil."


	2. Grieving Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome to: i struggle with the ages of sbi :] for now, techno and wilbur will just be about 4 years older than tommy so yeah :]

"Are you alright, Wilbur?"

Wilbur turns to look at Tubbo, who looks concerned. Tommy does as well, though it's a more confused look. Wilbur tries to play it off, and nods with a smile.

"Yes, I'm okay! If you don't mind, please tell Phil to come to L'manberg. To my house, actually! Just under the crane." Wilbur picks up his book he wrote about the things he remembered and sets it in his book chest. Tommy sits up out of a chair and walks out of the book room, into the main room.

"I think I'm going to go talk to Big Q and Karl, have fun with your book writing Wilbur."

"Yeah, I've got to continue to rebuild the van! I've told Philza to pop by as soon as possible! Bye Wilbur!"

"Bye Tommy, goodbye Tubbo! See you later," Wilbur shuts the door before he finishes his sentence. Above, he can hear Tubbo and Tommy expressing their concerns about him. They grow quieter as they walk away together.

"I wonder if he'll still spar with me. Is he even coming?" Wilbur floats up out of his house, high into the sky to see if anyone was coming. In the distance, he saw a green striped hat and a pink pig. Techno was coming too...was that a good thing? Wilbur loved his brother, but everybody else seemed to hate him...what did he do? Now that he thought about it, he didn't remember much of his older brother or his dad. Not much of his younger brother either. What were they to him? What did they do?

Wilbur took a small walk around New L'manberg, looking at the newly placed flags. He liked those flags quite well. They were similar to the original ones, but not too different. When he suggested them to Tubbo, he had said that they looked much better than that ugly Manberg flag. He didn't know what Manberg was. 

He heard talking above him, looking up to see Philza and Techno talking amongst themselves. They were pointing at certain things around New L'manberg. The crane, the new flags, the podium seats. Techno looked angry. Phil looked sad. Wilbur walked over, slightly floating once he was close enough. He saw Tommy behind the crane, watching Techno and their dad. 

"Hey! It's been a while, you two! Techno, do you want to spar again? It can be like the old times!" Wilbur appears in front of them, smiling. They're taken aback a bit, Techno grasps the handle of his sword a little tighter. 

"Wilbur. Didn't know you got resurrected."

"I don't think I was personally resurrected, I think it just happened. Do you like what I've done with New L'manberg? I think the crater looked pretty ugly, I'm glad we built over it!"

"You blew up that crater in the first place, Wilbur."

Techno and Philza look confused when they don't get an immediate reply, as does Wilbur. "I didn't blow it up." Tommy comes out from behind the crane, standing next to Wilbur. Wilbur notices. Tommy looks incredibly angry staring at the two of them. He thinks he sees a small tear form up in Phil's eye. 

"It's been great to see you again, Will. I'm sorry for what I did. I'm sorry I couldn't stop you."

"Stop me from what?"

Techno starts to pull his sword out of its hilt, but Philza stops him.

"Stop it, Techno. I can explain later. Just don't bring it up right now."

"Oh Tommy. You've been so stuck up ever since you became vice president to your fun little 'collection'. This government will come down. And it'll come down by my hands."

"You betrayed us, Techno! You could've ruled with us instead of against us! Don't do this, Big T."

"You know what Tommy? I used to call you my brother. Then you lied to me for months on end, told me you would keep my best interest in mind, and USED me."

"I used to call you my brother too, and then Will blew everything up and you made those withers and almost killed Tubbo so many times and to top it all off? Our dad stabbed him in front of us with the sword you're holding! You aren't my brother anymore, Techno. You're just a bitch."

Wilbur stood in the middle of the arguing, almost paralyzed. He didn't know what to say. Did he really blow it all up? That couldn't be true. Did he hurt all of his friends? Why did he hurt them? He loved his friends. His eyes flick to Techno's sword, and he feels a pain in his chest. He could probably pinpoint every dent, every mark in that blade. How easily it glided through his chest, how he begged for air in his last moments of living. He remembered looking Phil in the eyes and asking if he was proud of him. He didn't get an answer. Now that he was a ghost, there was a hole in his chest. Every so often, blood would seep out of it. Nobody could sew it up, unfortunately.

"I think this meeting is over. Techno, let's go home. Wilbur, Tommy. We can talk later."

Wilbur couldn't hear most of what was said. Now that he had thought of it, was Phil ever proud of him? All of the decisions he made, was he ever proud? He couldn't remember. That's what upset him. What was Philza to him? Maybe he was technically a father, but was he treated like a son? 

He hears a knock on his door, but chooses to ignore it. He doesn't remember anything really. He only remembers the best parts. Wilbur starts to realize that he knows nothing about Philza, or about anyone around him. He doesn't even know himself. He doesn't know the damage he might've done.

"We're gonna come in!"

It's Quackity and Fundy. They could tell the vibe was off, Wilbur wasn't looking too hot. He looked paler than his usual ghost self and he was nervously picking at his yellow sweater. 

"Hello you two. What brings you here?" 

"We heard about what happened. Thought we'd bring you some pie, Sam helped us bake it."

"Oh, okay! Come on in, then."

Wilbur floats inside, holding the door open for the two men. They set the pies on a barrel, walking into the book room with Wilbur in pursuit. They all look a little shaken up, especially Wilbur. He looks anxious, scared. 

"Hey dude, I think I learned the other verses to the New L'manberg Anthem! Can I play them for you?"

"Oh yes, that's a great idea. Here," Wilbur materializes a guitar and hands it to Quackity. Quackity has webbed hands like a duck, so Wilbur had always been fascinated seeing Quackity play as if he didn't have the webbing. 

" _For freedom and for liberty, our nation sought to build on these.._ -" Wilbur was humming along to the tune beside his son. Fundy seemed a little apprehensive at first, seeing his father be so happy-go-lucky made him anxious. He hadn't seen him this happy for a while, things went downhill ever since they announced that there would be an election. He started humming along too though, slowly. His grandfather, whom he liked to call Grampza, he had gotten along with fine. Phil was strict compared to his usual idea of parenting which was Wilbur's doting. He didn't know how to feel about Wilbur now, Ghostbur, rather. Before he died, Wilbur had neglected him for months after he joined Schlatt's side. Even when he announced he was a spy for Pogtopia and was trying to help them, Wilbur had called him his traitor son. 

" _Our empty fields and canals 'round L'mantree…_ "

Fundy just missed the old days. He missed the old L'manberg, where he didn't have to worry about traitors and explosions and dead fathers. He missed the singing lessons and his father teaching him how to sing the original L'manberg anthem while sat on the roof of the camarvan. He missed the stories his father told him of a powerful man with a green striped hat and large wings and his pig-like son trying to protect their lands. Now that he was older, he could make the connection. A powerful man with a green striped hat and now clipped wings, his pig-like son who had been outcast from almost everywhere he could go. Wilbur always told him that those two men weren't the greatest. Now he spoke about them like they were idols. He didn't remember, did he? Did he even remember Fundy as his son?

" _We sing L'manberg...To our L'manberg…"_

"Good job Quackity! That was really good. You did a good job too, Fundy!"

"Huh?"

"You were singing along! You were singing kind of quietly, but I could hear you. You did a good job!"

"Oh. Thank you."

Wilbur clapped softly, bowing his head to the man with the beanie in front of him. It went to Quackity's head apparently, seeing as he immediately dove into a three minute session on how great of a singer he was, claiming that his songs were a masterpiece of a song. 

"Yes, Quackity! Very well done! You remembered well. You're a fast learner!" Wilbur smiles, taking the guitar out of Quackity's hands and laying it against one of the walls of the room. 

"Thanks, Ghostbur! What have you been doing lately? The only time we ever see you is when you're building new things in L'manberg." Quackity vaguely gestured above the three men where the crane stood on top of Wilbur's house.

"Well…I can't really leave L'manberg anyways...so right now I'm just always building new things to make it as nice as possible! It looks better than the old L'manberg, doesn't it Fundy?" 

"Yeah, it looks a lot better actually. Tommy's house clashes, though."

"Well that's just Tommy. Man couldn't match the decor even if he tried."

"Too true, too true!"

"At least he tried though!"

"That's true. Hey Ghostbur-,"

"Yeah?"

"Why were you so shaken up when we came in? We only heard a tiny bit of what happened with Tommy."

Wilbur considered Quackity's question for a second. Why _was_ he so shaken up? Had he already forgotten?

"I don't quite remember. Someone probably just tried to make me remember bad things. I don't like hearing about that."

Quackity and Fundy look at each other hesitantly. If Wilbur didn't want to remember the bad things, how much had he truly forgotten? Would he ever remember what he did? Quackity had tried to tell Wilbur that he blew up L'manberg, but it simply didn't work. All that was said was a simple no and him denying that he would ever do that.

"Well, okay. What do you remember?"

"The good things! Most are just some familial memories, but most are about smells and tastes. Like the smell of bread."

"Bread?"

"Yup!"

Wilbur glanced at his book sat on the pedestal. It sat next to the New L'manberg Anthem book. Both were dry by now, the ink was no longer glossy like it was when first applied. He takes the two books and sets them in his book chest. 

"I think I'm going to go make new renovations to L'manberg now! Care to join?"

"Thanks for the offer, but me and Fundy have business to do. Gotta go kill some cows."

"Oh, okay! I hope you both have fun." 

Fundy leaves first, making his way up water shoot. The water was inconvenient to say the least, but drying off was pretty easy in the hot summer sun of L'manberg. 

"Quackity,"

"Yeah? What's up?"

"Feel free to visit my library anytime. Here," Wilbur hands Quackity a few blank books. Most of them are completely blank, but one is lined. "with the lined one you can write your song lyrics or anything you want, really. I just want more books to be written. Please give one to whoever you see fit if you can't write in all of them, okay?"

Quackity smiles. "Yeah. I will. Thanks, Ghostbur. See you later, man."

Quackity takes his leave, taking a small bag with him to help carry his books and shove them and then himself up the water spout. 

"Time to get to work."

Wilbur rummages through his chest to find dyes, paper, and unlit lanterns. carrying his materials, he floats up to the crane and starts assembling his chinese lanterns. One by one, he makes the coloured paper, assembles it into its lantern form and places a lantern inside. One by one, he lights the lanterns and lifts them into the sky, floating above the small town. They're in the colors of the New L'manberg flag; blue, red, yellow…

* * *

"Dad, look!! We did it!"

"Good job Techno, good job Will!"

Wilbur and Techno were both lighting white chinese lanterns into the sky, with the help of their father with a long, thin stick that was perpetually lit in flame at the top. Their father called it a blaze rod. Wilbur and Techno were even younger then, only ten years old. Tommy was a toddler, only four years at that point. Phil usually stayed home now that Tommy was with them, but this time he was holding a sleeping Tommy with a wrap against his back. 

"Boys, come look from here." Phil ushered his children over, bringing them close to his side. The two boys and their father looked up at the sky from the mountain they were on. The sky was filled with hundreds of glittering and glowing lanterns, floating around each other and lighting up the sky like hundreds of big stars. For the time it took to set it up, the outcome was worth it.

"Thanks for helping us set this up, Dad."

"Of course. I'm so proud of you two." 

Wilbur lunged at Techno, giving him a huge hug. "It's so pretty! We did such a good job, TechnOOAAA-," in that moment, Wilbur had slipped off of the edge of the mountain with Techno coming down with him. Philza swooped into action, taking flight and picking up his kids with both of his hands, holding them both close to his chest.

"You both are so, so troublesome..."

* * *

Wilbur liked the chinese lanterns better that night than the falling. But he missed hugging Techno. They never hugged anymore. They didn't even speak.

"Hey! What're you 'doooin?"

Wilbur cracked his head down from where he was floating. It was Fundy! He floated down and walked on the boards to greet Fundy at the podiums.

"What are these?"

"They're chinese lanterns!"

"What?"

"I used to make them with Phil."

"Ohh...okay! They look nice."

"I think so too."

Fundy scratched at his hair, twisting at some of the white tufts. "Won't the fire blow out?"

"I think corporeal fire is different from actual fire! I don't think it ever goes out."

"Ohh...what else are you going to add?"

"Well, you see that spot right over there? By the little bench with the leaves?"

"Yeah, I do. Right above Niki's bakery."

"I want to build a water wheel over it!"

"That isn't a bad idea."

"Thank you!"

Fundy looked frustrated. "Hey, were you ever proud of me?" Wilbur looks taken aback by his question. He thinks for a moment, then walks to give his son a hug. He struggles to not phase through, but his hands still find it hard to grab onto those who aren't corporeal. They both went silent for a while.

"Well, you're my son! Of course I'm proud of you.

"Really?"

"Well...yeah, of course."

Fundy steps back a bit, still seeming frustrated but also feeling confused. "That's all I wanted to hear. I really like what you've done with the town, Dad. I think I'm going to go try and find Tommy or Connor."

"Okay! Have fun!" 

Fundy walks away, wiping his eyes and leaving Wilbur by himself. Wilbur looks at his lanterns, he's quite proud of them. They looked like the lanterns on that night when Philza saved them. It was nice, a nice memory. Now that he thought about it, he didn't remember much about Philza. He didn't remember much about his brothers either, not much about Tommy, less about Techno. Everything was blank. That's part of the reason why he collected books, to remember things.

The bad part about being killed by your own father is that you lose what mattered to you most: what made you keep living. Now Wilbur was simply existing for himself and to help his friends rebuild their town, simply put he was living the life. But he forgot what made him human, he forgot the bad memories which helped him move forward. It gave him a will to live, but now that he was dead and couldn't remember his wills to live, did he have a purpose? 

"Hello Will. " Wilbur turned his neck, it was Techno! His hair was in a bun, he was wearing glasses as well. He looked tired, worn out. 

"Techno!! Hi! Come hug meeAAAH-" Wilbur tries to embrace Techno with a hug, but passes through him and falls to the dirt. "Awh. I forgot I can't really touch those who aren't corporeal like me anymore." They both grimace from both the fall and the weird feeling from getting phased through.

"Uh...hug?"

"Yeah! Like we did when we were little kids, remember?"

"I do, you used to lunge at me and knock me to the floor, then Dad would get mad at you for getting your clothes dirty."

Wilbur laughs, he remembers that. "Yup!! And you would always knock me on the back because you couldn't breath from how tight I held you!" There was a comfortable silence between the two as they both sat down in the grass, staring at the lanterns in front of them.

"I wish we could do that again."

"How do you mean, Techno?"

"Hug, I mean. I'd bet the hugs aren't so warm anymore."

Wilbur sits silent for a while. He hears a drip, and turns to look at Techno. Techno looks at him, and his eyes go a little wide and he gestures to Wilbur's face.

"You...you're crying…"

Wilbur brings his hand up to his face and wipes away his tears with his sleeve. "Huh? Oh...sorry about that."

"Are you alright?"

"I think, for once in my corporeal life, I finally miss something important to me."

"Yeah?"

"Hugs. I miss hugs, Techno. I want to hug my family, my friends."

"Seems like it," Techno slides closer to his brother and wraps an arm around him, slightly hovering above his cold, translucent skin as to not phase through his corporeal body. "Feels nice to reminisce."

"Thank you, Techno. I don't remember much about you anymore, but I remember the good things. I think Quackity and Fundy were talking about the bad things you've done, but you're still my brother nonetheless." Wilbur tries to lean into the hug, but readjusts his body after realizing that it wouldn't work. 

"Yeah. I think you're the only one who thinks that anymore."

There's an uncomfortable silence between the two.

"So...you collect books?"

"Yes! Would you like to see? Come, come!" Wilbur smiles and leads his brother under the crane into his house. "Into the library we go!" 

"How many books do you have?" 

Wilbur walked into the library while Techno sorted through his stuff and opened the chest of books. "Several! A lot of documents and handwritten books and other nonsense. It's to help me remember." 

"Oh, I see."

"Here, take a book."

"What for?"

"To write things, to help me remember. Whatever you want, honestly. Like a diary!"

"A diary, yeah? You know, I think Fundy killed my cows...might write him a threat note."

Wilbur nods. It's silent for a moment, but he hears footsteps above them and shushes his brother. He mouths to him, asking who it is. Techno shrugs, motioning for him to peek and look. Wilbur nods, floating up and slightly peeking his head above the ground. He sees Philza jump down into the crater and disappear for a moment, and floats back down to Techno.

"I see Phil!! I'm going to go say hi!"

"Wait, don't g-"

Techno didn't get to finish his sentence as Wilbur floated away, phasing through the ground to find Philza. Philza was in the button room. Wilbur didn't remember this room, didn't remember what it was for at least. But he knew that this was where he died, where Philza killed him. He could remember it so vividly, laying in Philza's arms and asking if he was proud, asking if he still loved him. He didn't get a response. Philza was kneeling in the corner, completely silent. There was a dried puddle of blood where he was kneeling. There was a gravestone. 

"Wilbur...I'm so sorry."

Wilbur stayed silent, standing behind his…standing behind Phil. He didn't want to say anything, just to watch. Watch the man who killed him pray for forgiveness with his green striped hat and clipped wings. He didn't remember how they got clipped, but they did.

"I couldn't save you, but I was so proud."

The room was dark. It was cold. 

"Hey Phil."

There was more silence. Long, uncomfortable silence. Philza didn't move.

"Hello Wilbur. How long have you been here?"

"Not too long."

"I'm sorry."

"I don't remember it. Not much, anyways. I just remember you stabbing me but I don't remember why. What is this room?"

"It isn't important anymore."

"You've always been an awful liar, Phil."

"Come here, Will. We need to talk."

"I'm good. I think I'll take my leave now, though! Have fun, Phil!"

Wilbur floated up out of the room. For a split second, he swore he could hear Philza turn around and beg for him to come back. He ignored it. When he came up to the top, there were two other people. One of them was Puffy, a brave woman who was a bit of a prankster. Nobody knew where she came from, but she was quite nice to Wilbur. He quite liked bonking her on the head when she wasn't looking or when he wasn't visible. She gave him so many books when he asked for them. The other was Eret, whom Tubbo had eventually explained was a close friend of those in L'manberg. He used to be a king. Wilbur had always wondered who built the castle in the distance. 

"Hello Eret, hello Puffy!"

The two jumped in surprise, but waved when they realized who it was.

"Hello Ghostbur! We were just chatting about sheep before you showed up."

"Sheep?"

"Yes, Puffy thought it was a grand idea to kill all of my sheep and build a sheep structure above my castle filled with chickens. I burned it down."

"Which, might I add, was unnecessary! That sheep was good decor."

"I disagree."

Wilbur laughed. These two had a great friendship, it was obvious to see. "I think sheep are cute, but so are chickens. I like whales, personally. And Salmon."

"Is that because your wife was a Salmon?"

Wilbur turned to Puffy, looking somewhat confused. Puffy could obviously tell, because she laughed and pointed to Eret. "He told me. I mean, I overheard as well. Actually, Eret, how did you know? You weren't a L'manberg member as soon as it started, were you?"

Eret frowned. "No, I wasn't. But I didn't come in too late, Fundy was pretty young when I joined. We were all pretty young, weren't we? I watched him grow up, I've met Sally before. I mean, she was technically a member of L'manberg wasn't she?" He looked at Wilbur whilst asking. He shrugged in response.

"I can't remember. Not really, anyway. I don't remember much of my time in L'manberg. Just the van and watching Fundy grow up. And Sally, of course." Eret gave a look to Puffy, trying to say that's how he knew. Puffy hummed in thought.

"Wait, was Sally actually a salmon?" 

"No, she was a real woman. She just went with the flow like one. Kind of looked like one too, red hair and constantly wearing green dresses or green attire. I don't quite remember, but she told me her family used to run an aquatic fish pet shop."

"Awh, that's cute! Where is she now?"

"Missing now, although she's been gone for a while. Unless you know where she is, Wilbur?" Eret chimes in, assuming Wilbur wouldn't remember. He nods, pulling out a small paper note from out of thin air. It had directions, just not to a specific location.

"I know her general location, just not specifically. She could be anywhere, really."

"Why haven't you gone to her? Does she know you're a ghost?"

"She probably does. There's two things you should know about salmon, you two. One, they know everything. And two, they really like their privacy."

Wilbur pockets the note. Eret and Puffy nod in understanding, and don't question it any farther. Puffy stops, though, and looks to Wilbur.

"Hey...you're a ghost. Have you ever seen Schlatt around? He's dead, isn't he?"

Now that was a question Wilbur hadn't processed. He didn't even know that Schlatt was dead until Tubbo had told him and mentioned that a funeral would be held. He hadn't seen Schlatt anywhere, not even at his funeral grounds.

"No...I haven't. Hey, where are his funeral grounds?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've decided that i'll probably write up a carrd for Ghosting, and that's where the credit will be :]. itll be on my twitter probably, just @/koyikki. ive decided that all of these chapters will probably be around 3k words in total! this chapter is about 4k but thats fine  
> also just wanted to note that in this i won't really speak much on wilbur or techno being the older sibling, i'll probably consider them twins!


	3. Pie Is Bad For Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> flatty patty :]

"Hey...where are his funeral grounds?"

Puffy points over to a memorial under a tower. It's hell themed, Wilbur believes.

Wilbur hadn't really thought much of Schlatt. He didn't really remember him. Tubbo told him they always hated each other, so he didn't expect much. He didn't really know why he was going to this burial site, he just figured that if anyone could help him with his memories, it could be Schlatt. Fundy helped him find his way to the memorial, asking if he really wanted to see if Schlatt had passed into the corporeal world or not. Wilbur's decision was set in place regardless.

"Why are you doing this again, Wilbur?"

"I don't know, honestly! Maybe just to see if he ever passed on or if he's stuck here like me."

"Stuck here?"

"Well, ghosts aren't supposed to be in the mortal realm! Unfinished business, supposedly."

Fundy looked...nervous. He wasn't sure that possibly resurrection was a good idea, Quackity was already talking about it anyways. He'd mentioned something about a "political puppet" but Fundy disagreed on the idea. Schlatt was what ruined his relationship with his father. "To each their own, I guess?" Fundy's voice cracked whilst speaking.

Wilbur had to hold onto Fundy, or at least try to. His spirit was tied to the heart of L'manberg, to the button room, so trying to go past any border limits was a little bit difficult for a born again ghost. They had arrived at Schlatt's funeral spot though, semi-ready to beat him back down to wherever he came from. They had checked the Camarvan, where he had apparently died as Fundy said. Nothing was to be found, so this was their last resort. Schlatt didn't really have a home, he was pretty much homeless for the most part. Fundy kept his distance, but Wilbur came up to the podium and floated around.

"Schlatt? Are you here? It's me, Wilbur! And Fundy as well, but mostly myself! You died, I heard? Schlatt?"

There was only silence and the sounds of birds and leaves falling from trees. Fundy started calling out to Schlatt as well.

"Schlaaaaat!! We checked the van! You weren't there, so you've got to be here! Come out, please!"

More silence.

"Schlatt! Ow!-" Wilbur cringed a bit as a projectile hit his head. He looked to the ground, it was a small pebble. A ghost pebble, actually. It was covered in a slightly translucent coating of corporeal...stuff. 

"I'm trying to rest in peace, so will you two idiots shut up? My grave's already been pissed on several times, I'm not looking for fur-boy piss or ghost piss on it either."

Fundy screamed on impact of seeing Schlatt in front of Wilbur. "SCHLATT?! YOU'RE ACTUALLY HERE?!"

"Oh! Hello Schlatt!"

"No shit I'm actually here. The hell you'd think I'd be? L'fuckberg? How the hell did you die, pretty boy?"

"My father stabbed me in the back! I actually have no idea who you are, but my friends told me you're a bit of a dictator," Wilbur smiled. Schlatt frowned at that, slumped back into the walls. Wilbur was still rubbing at where he was hit with his hand, though he was happy to see another ghost that wasn't dead animals. 

"You lose your memories or 'somethin? Ha."

"Not all of them. You might've knocked a few more loose screws out with that pebble, though! How did you turn that rock into something that would hit me?"

"I pissed on it."

"Oh! Ew."

Wilbur shakes his hands clean and wipes them on his jeans. He looks to Fundy with a disgusted look only to see that Fundy has run off to tell the others. 

"Why did you wake me up?"

"I guess I just wanted to see if you passed on or not."

"I didn't, fuckface. Don't know what I gotta do though. Why you here? Didn't you finish your shit when you blew everything up?"

"Everyone keeps telling me I blew it up, but I didn't! I don't remember doing that, at least."

"Damn, you really just forgot everything didn't you? You know, you're the reason I'm dead."

"I would like to stop talking about this please and thank you!"

Jschlatt picks up his piss rock and chucks it at his memorial wall, full force. It shatters. 

"You're kind of stupid, Wilbur."

"I think everyone likes me better that way!"

"Damn. Can't relate, everyone respected me. Then they all left. First it was Tubbo, then it was Quackity. Then Fundy. Everybody left me. Those three were the only people close to me, the only people who pretended to care about me. You know what I've figured out, Wilbur? Know what I've figured out after months of ruling something that was doomed to fail? After ruling people who I knew hated me, who used to be my friends?"

Wilbur feels guilty for some odd reason. "What?"

"I'd rather live alone than alive."

There's an awkward silence.

"I'm going back to rest."

Wilbur nods, watching Schlatt sink into his memorial grounds and turning around and leaving. He meets Fundy back at L'manberg who seems to just be arriving from one of the many paths that connected to L'manberg. Over the commotion, he hears laughing from Karl's base. It's Quackity and...another person? He didn't know this man, maybe he was new. Floating over, he gave a wave to the two he recognized. They waved back, as well as the other man. 

"Who's this?"

"Huh?"

"Him," Wilbur points to the man with the white headband and semi-long, dark hair that flowed over the tied headband. 

"Sapnap? You don't remember him?" 

"Should I?" 

"I mean...memory wise, yes? But Ghostbur wise, probably not."

"Sapnap" looks to Wilbur and stands, almost expectantly waiting for him to remember something, anything. "You don't remember me Wilbur?"

"Nope! Well, anyways...Quackity, I just met with Schlatt!" 

"YOU MET WITH SCHLATT? HOW?"

"At his memorial. He threw a pebble at me! He pissed on it though."

"Oh what the honk…"

"That's honked up."

"I know! He didn't seem too interested. Also, who is 'Flatty Patty'?"

"That fucker…HE REALLY CALLED ME FLATTY PATTY BEYOND THE GRAVE? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?"

All three of the men burst into laughter upon seeing Quackity's anger. 

"Calm down Big Q, your ass is so fat."

Wilbur looks perplexed, "he said I blew up L'manberg. I don't think I would do that, but everyone seems to be saying it as well. I think I would have remembered it, though."

"You did, though. You were the main traitor."

"Sapnap! What the honk!"

"Ignore him, Wilbur. Do you remember anything the day that you died?"

Wilbur had to think a bit after hearing Quackity's question. What did he remember from that day?

"Well…I remember bullying Tommy a bit...and then tunnels and towers...Techno's armoury…and then Phil stabbing me."

"Jesus man, that's all? You're really decaying there, old man."

"Yeah, you probably just woke up with dementia!"

They all laughed at that, Wilbur less-so. He couldn't really age now that he was corporeal, but he didn't really know how old he was in this form. Based on his yellow sweater, he'd have to say sixteen or seventeen. Maybe his clothes were just from his younger years, though. "I don't know, I feel a lot younger in this form. I don't think mortal me would have built so much, like the lanterns and the crane!"

"Maybe you woke up so young and the reason you don't remember is because as a sixteen year old you wouldn't have remembered anything that didn't happen to him!" Karl was giggling, a usual thing he did when he would say something he thought was cool or funny.

"No...I don't think that's the case. I remember things that happened after I was sixteen, like Fundy growing up and just L'manberg in general. When I was sixteen, I still lived with Phil and my brothers. Phil and Techno were out doing work though, so I took Tommy and Tubbo far away and ended up here! Interesting story, honestly."

The four sat in silence for a while, only for the three to go back to talking about marriage and cheating and polyamory. Wilbur had no interest in this conversation and quickly floated away. Looking around, there were lots of people around. Another person was farming potatoes a bit behind the hills of L'manberg. Tubbo told him his name was 'Purpled'. He was a nice guy, was mostly quiet and didn't mind the drama. He saw two people sitting near the docks, and a man near his crane. It was Phil. After the talk he had last night with him, Wilbur wasn't sure he wanted to speak to him. He tried to have a heartfelt conversation, but he couldn't think about his father without his own sword impaling him in his chest. He floated down, standing awkwardly next to Philza. 

"Hey, Phil."

"Wilbur! God, you scared me. Can we talk?"

"We can! Come, down the sewers. My house is down here."

"I know, I've been."

"Everybody seems to forget."

Wilbur floated down the sewers and opened the door to his house to let Philza in. Once inside, he floated into his Library and sat by the fire. It was the only warmth that he really felt now.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?"

"For the meeting with Tommy, Technoblade, and I. It went a little off the handle."

"It did, but I don't mind."

There was a comfortable silence.

"Phil, were you ever proud of me? Proud of what I've done, even if I don't remember what I've done?"

Philza looks at Wilbur with an unexpected look. A look of knowledge, a look that said he almost expected this question. At the same time, he looked a bit sad.

"Of course I was proud of you. I still am. You're my son, Wilbur, regardless of what you've done or what you did."

"Was I a bad person, Phil?"

"I think the bad things you did were for a reason."

There was another few seconds of silence before Philza shuffled over and sat next to Wilbur.

"You're cold."

"I'm a ghost?"

"Fair point."

Philza wrapped an arm around his son, making sure to hover slightly so his arm doesn't phase through.

"I love you, Wilbur."

* * *

"I love you too, Dad!! We're going to miss you so much, right Tommy?" Wilbur was thirteen when Philza and Technoblade decided to go to war. Techno decided to help their father with his growing country but they would be away for so long. Techno had been gone for longer, he had a kingdom all to himself. They had both left him to take care of Tommy himself. Tommy was only nine years old. 

"Yeah, we'll miss you Dad!! You too Techno!" 

"Awh, we'll miss you too Tommy! Don't worry, me and Techno won't be gone for long. Just behave for your older brother, okay?"

"Yessir!"

Wilbur wasn't sure how to feel. Wilbur had his own country of course, but he didn't engage in any wars. For the most part, it was paperwork. Easy money. 

"Dad?"

"Yes, Will?"

"Can you sing me that song you made? About that fake city?"

"Of course! Go on, Tommy. Go play with Techno!"

Philza picked up Wilbur and carried him to the living room whilst Wilbur laughed, begging him to put him down. He gently set his son on the floor and sat next to him, grabbing a kalimba from under one of the chairs.

" _I heard there was a little place...where those could go and finally stay…away from all the hatred and the fighting…_ "

Wilbur liked this song. He knew it by heart, Philza had always sung this song to Techno and himself as a bedtime story song.

" _This place exists, no need to fret...with friends and foe and no secrets, they're all the same and all equal in…_ "

"L'manberg!!"

Phil laughs and sets his kalimba to the side.

"No, Will! It's 'Antarctica', remember?"

"But L'manberg sounds so much better!"

"Just let me finish the song, you troublemaker."

"Fine, fine!"

Phil picks up his kalimba again, gently picking at the wooden keys. The kalimba was handcrafted, a gift from their mother a long time ago. Their mother was very good at woodcarving. 

" _Oh my country, our sweet country, our sweet country…Antarctica_."

"Thanks, Dad. Will you be back soon?"

"Yes, of course. It'll only be a month or so, and I've left you instructions on how to cook."

"Promise?"

"Promise. I love you, Will."

* * *

"I love you too, Dad."

Phil chuckles. 

"Haven't heard that one in a while!"

"What?"

"You're calling me dad. You usually just call me by my name."

"I feel like I'm too old for Dad now! It feels childish…"

"If Techno can do it, so can you."

"Ughh..you're so boring. So, so old."

"I might be old but an old man can still kick his son's ass."

They both laugh for a bit, giggling and hugging next to the makeshift fireplace. Philza moves his hand to give his son a pat on the back, but moves his hand away in disgust.

"Will, you're bleeding!"

"What? Awh...I just cleaned this sweater!"

"Did you never get your wound sewn up?"

"I don't think I can get it sewn up...I think ghosts die with their permanent wounds. It doesn't hurt though! You know, I met with Schlatt earlier today!"

"Really? How did that go?"

"He threw a rock at my head! We talked about death together."

Phil laughed when seeing Wilbur point to the back of his head. There was a slightly blue tinted liquid on the back of Wilbur's head. Was that piss? It wasn't the best time to ask, but Philza made a mental note to ask later.

"Did he look any different?"

"Yeah, actually! White hair and a light blue sweater like mine. Still the same mutton chops though!"

"Huh! Do you think all ghosts revert back to a younger version of themselves?" 

"Do you think I look younger?" 

"A little bit. That sweater was definitely from a few years ago, and you're wearing your beanie. You got rid of that ages ago."

Wilbur fiddles with his sweater. As much as he hated this sweater when he was younger, he liked it now. It kept him comfortable, kept him warm. He liked the beanie as well, but he didn't remember ever taking it off.

"Do you think I have other ghost powers I don't know of? Schlatt can use his own bodily fluids to turn anything he wanted into a corporeal form." 

Ah. It was piss. Phil guessed correctly, or at least he thought he did. He didn't want to think of what else it could be. He used his sleeve to gently wipe at Wilbur's hair without trying to phase through him. It worked, but barely.

"Maybe! That can be what you do tomorrow."

"What, trying to find out my ghost powers?"

"If you have any, that is."

"What do you think it is?"

"I'd figure it's probably something music related or explosive related."

Wilbur furrowed his brows. "Explosive? Why so?"

"Nevermind."

"Oh. Okay."

There's a knock at the door and some hushed laughing. Wilbur turns to the doorway and gets up to open the door, ushering Phil to follow him.

"Hello Tommy, hello Tubbo! What are you two doing here?" 

"We wanted to drop off some more books! I found some in the old library under L'manberg and Tommy...well...he made his own to give you."

"Here, Wilbu-"

"Ghostbur, Tommy!"

"Right, Tubbo. Here, Big G. Got some lovely titles for you."

Wilbur peered at the books Tommy was holding. They were both titled _How To Sex_ , with a number according to which volume they were. Wilbur busted out laughing, which sent the others into a frenzy of wheezing and laughing at Tommy's immaturity. The two boys came inside, with Tubbo quickly walking to the back to place more documents inside of Wilbur's chest. Up front, Tommy was reading _How To Sex 2_.

"Sex with Bad: Do not do it."

"TOMMY, WHAT?"

"Jesus christ Tommy, put the book away!"

They were all laughing as a family. It was nice to see them all without the drama. Wilbur just wished the drama between picking sides would stop already. When he woke up as a ghost, he was scared to talk to his family or his friends. He thought they would be disappointed in him. When he had woken up, he was honestly quite confused. He didn't know what had happened to him, or what was going on.

He woke up in front of himself, or rather woke up like a butterfly coming out of its cocoon. Like getting out of bed, but no warmth or comfort. Just cold, dead silence. He couldn't hear much either. All he could see was Philza hugging his dead body, sobbing. Telling him that he should've come sooner and other incoherent things that he couldn't really understand. He remembered loud pops in the distance like explosions. It took him a few minutes to fully render what had happened, what was going on. His corporeal form sat near his body for a day or so, trying to remember what happened. 

The worst part about being a ghost and seeing yourself die is that you end up mourning yourself and grieving what you lost. It's like being born again, in a way. Wilbur had experienced this the day after his death when all he did was sit in the button room which had been covered up by stone and dirt. The first time he'd come out and talked with his friends was when Tubbo was talking with Fundy and Quackity about the new state of L'manberg. It was weird, disorienting. But now that Wilbur was a couple days old in his ghost form, he felt more comfortable. He cherished the people who visited him the most, usually the president and those who he gave power. He liked when they came by with friends like Sam or Connor or even Puffy. 

"Wilbur? Are you there?"

Wilbur snapped open his eyes to look at Tommy.

"Oh, hey. Yes?"

"I asked if you had any food. Were you not listening? You're so old, Big G. Decrepit."

"Adulterous!"

Tommy sighs, knocking Tubbo on the head.

"That's not what that means, Tubbo."

"I'm dyslexic?"

"That's spelling, not definitions. Anyways, you got any food Will? I am oh so poor, don't have anything but sticks and bones to my name."

"You're a child, Tommy. I have pie, though!"

Both Tommy and Tubbo perk up at the mention of pie and look around, making a mutual nonspoken, agreement of wanting pie. 

"It's...somewhere. Pumpkin pie. Quackity and Fundy said Sam made it."

"Woah, it's Sam's? He's such a good baker!"

"I found it!"

Philza pulls a pie wrapped in various baking papers, tied together with a string, out of a barrel. All three of the sons smiled, sitting down on the floor. The pie wasn't cut into slices.

"Should we save a slice?"

"For who?"

"For Tech- for anyone. Anyone who wants it, really…"

"Sounds good to me!"

Philza took out a small blade which looked like a small blade of an axe and began to slice. Wilbur felt a pain in his stomach, but he couldn't pinpoint the reason why. Philza served a slice to each of his sons.

"Why do you guys think I'm still on the mortal plane?"

"Unfinished business, isn't it?"

"Maybe? I'd like to stay dead, though. Forever, preferably. My existence-"

Tommy laughs, which causes the others to laugh.

"My existence is pain! You all should make me a grave."

They all laugh, including Wilbur. Somehow, Wilbur's family had a special knack for laughing whilst dealing with trauma or upsetting things. It seemed to be the only way to cope anymore. After the four men had finished their food, they put the extra slice back into a barrel.

"Alright boys, I've got to go back to mining. I've got a bet with several people, they're giving me about a week to get rich."

"Share your profits with us~!"

"You're a president, Tubbo, use your government funding."

"My government is all poor!"

"Speak for yourself, bitch!"

"Tommy, you're more poor than I am."

"Ey watch it, dickhead."

The four of them all stood up, wiping the crumbs and dust off of their clothes. Philza left first, making his way up the water that had led into the sewers. Now it was only Tubbo and Tommy. Wilbur felt something in his throat stabbing at the flesh around it. Ghost flesh was much more sensitive than mortal flesh.

"Wilbur, are you alright? You look a little pained."

"I think pie is bad for ghosts," Wilbur strained his voice.

"What?"

"I said I don't think pie is good for ghosts, I don't feel very well. Please leave, you two." 

"Alright…come on Tubbo, let's go."

"Okay. Bye Ghostbur, feel better soon."

Wilbur held in his breath, but once the two boys left he had a coughing fit. He knelt on the ground, trying to breathe without coughing too hard. It was like knives in his neck, prick after prick. After the coughing died down, he opened his eyes and looked at the floor. It was a pebble. A ghost pebble.

"You look like shit."

Wilbur looked up. It was Schlatt, floating above him whilst tapping his fingers on the doorframe of the library.

"Did you put your piss pebble in my pie?"

"When you weren't looking. Don't worry, I didn't piss on that rock."

"Why are you here? I thought you wanted to rest."

"I can rest wherever I want. This is Manberg, dipshit."

"What's Manberg?"

"Nevermind. Look pretty boy, I figured maybe you could use some help in the ghost realm."

"Some help?" 

Wilbur scratched at his head. Help? From Schlatt? It's not like he possibly knew much more about being dead.

"Contrary to what you might think, I know lots about death. I was the first dead man in this god forsaken shithole, so I had to learn quick. Wasn't dead for long, but I know the basics."

"The basics?"

"Yeah. Do you want my help or not?"

Schlatt pushed Wilbur back, making him stumble a bit and knock himself back into his counter. Wilbur frowned, but he was thinking about it. As much as Tommy and his other friends talked about hating Schlatt, he was the only other ghost. Wilbur could really use some help around L'manberg.

"I do."

"Meet me at Tommy's stupidass house."

"But I can't g-"

"Meet me there."

Wilbur frowned.

"Okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter three :] smile  
> i wanted to note here that not everyone calls him Ghostbur. the people who don't are tommy, techno, will, fundy, and quackity! sapnap doesn't either, but i don't think he would realize that there's an obvious difference.


End file.
